Trainer Aircraft of Indian Air Force

Trainer Aircraft of Indian Air Force.jpg

  • Basic Jet trainer used by IAF for intermediate training for pilots trained on the HP T-32 Deepak is HAL HJT-16 Kiran.
  • It is used by IAF acrobatic team Surya Kiran and Indian Naval acrobatic team Sagar Pawans.
  • It is replaced by HAL HJ T-36 Sitara.
  • The BAE Hawk Mk132 is a higher jet trainer in the IAF.
  • Surya Kiran display team is replacing kiran MK 11 to Hawks.
  • Light trainer aircraft purchased from Switzerland used by IAF is Pilatus PC-7 MK II aircraft.
  • First Indian President to sail in a submarine is APJ Abdul Kalam.
  • The first Indian President to fly in a fighter aircraft is APJ Abdul Kalam (Sukhoi-30 MKI Aircraft)
  • The second Indian President (First Woman President) to fly in a fighter aircraft is Pratibha Patil (Sukhoi - 30 MKI)

Helicopters

  • HAL Dhruv Helicopters are operated by the Indian Air Force Sarang Helicopter Display Team.
  • Light utility helicopter used primarily for training, rescue and light transport roles in the IAF is HAL Chetak.
  • Light utility helicopter used for high altitude operations is HAL Cheetah.
  • Mil Mi-8 and the Mil Mi-17 are run by the Indian Air Force for intermediate service roles.
  • Mil Mi-26 functions as a heavy lift helicopter in the Indian Air Force.
  • The Mil Mi-35 run by the Indian Air Force is mainly serves as an attack helicopter.
  • The attack helicopter manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Army in 2013 is Rudra.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

  • The IAF currently uses the IAI Searcher and IAI Heron for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes.
  • An unmanned combat aerial vehicle produced by Israel designed to attack radar systems is IAI Harpy.
  • Pilotless Target Aircraft manufactured by HAL which serves as realistic towed aerial sub-targets for live fire training is Lakshya.
  • India's light weight unmanned aerial vehicle developed by DRDO is Netra.

Surface to Air Missile Systems

  • The IAF at present runs the S-125 Pechora and the 9K33 OSA as surface to air missile systems.
  • The new tactical Suface to Surface missile with a range between 60 -70 km developed by India in 2013 Pragati.

Air Fighters

  • An Air borne Early Warning and Control Radar System of Indian Air Force developed by Israel is EL/W-2090. The Three EL/W-2090 is in service.
  • Sukhoi Su-30 mki is a multi role Air Superiority fighter of IAF. The Manufacturers were Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (under licence from Sukhoi) introduced in 27 September 2002.
  • The IAF have around 157 Su-30 MKIs in working as of January 2013.
  • Mikoyan is a MIG-29 Jet fighter aircraft. The National origin is Soviet Union, Russia. India was the first global consumer of the MIG-29. It was inducted into IAF in 1985 as Baaz. The IAF has 66 MiG 29's in service.
  • The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole Jet fighter. The IAF purchased Mirage 2000 in 1985 and named it Vajra.
  • MIG-21 is one of the supersonic Jet fighter aircraft of India which was made by Soviet Union. Mig-21 entered service with the IAF in 1964. India's first supersonic jet fighter decommissioned after 50 years of Service in 2013 is MIG 21.
  • The aircraft that replaced the MIG 21 is Thejas.
  • The SEPECAT Jaguar known as Shamshor and the Mikoyan MIG-27 known as Bahadur serve as the IAF's primary ground attack force.

Tanker and Transport Aircraft

  • The Illyushin 11 -78 is an aerial refueling tanker. IAF refers to the aircraft as MARS.
  • For strategic military transport operations the IAF uses the Illyushin 11-76 known as Gajraj in Indian Service.
  • The C-130 J of the Indian Air Force is used by Special Forces for joint Army and Air Force operations. C- 130 J Super Hercules Aircraft was bought from USA.
  • The AntanovAN-32 known as Sutlej serves as medium transport aircraft in the IAF. It is also used in bombing and para-dropping operations.
  • The Domier Do 228 serves as light transport air craft in the IAF.
  • The Indian Air Force also runs Boeing 737s and Embraer ECJ-135 legacy aircraft for the purpose of VIP transports and also for passenger transport for troops.
  • Hawker Siddeley HS 748 at the present used mainly for training and communication duties.